Specialization Spotlight: Exploring the Fields of Psychology

Psychology as a field of study has gained immense popularity in recent times owing to an immense increase in the number of people suffering from various mental health issues. Another reason contributing to the popularity of the field is the decrease in the stigma related to mental health issues and a large degree of acceptance in seeking help from mental health professionals as and when required. Looking at the demand it becomes imperative to talk about various specializations in the form of careers that a student can choose from within the field of psychology. Let’s understand all of them:

Clinical Psychology: One of the most famous fields of psychology focusing on assessment, diagnosis/ identification, and intervention in the area of mental health issues is gaining popularity day by day. A student pursuing the field of clinical Psychology can work in various sectors such as clinics, mental health facilities, hospitals, private practices, courtrooms, etc. The future scope for this field is encouraging, the field and its process can be amalgamated with artificial Intelligence, neurology, pharmacology, etc.

Counselling Psychology: A field common amongst educationists, social workers, adult & geriatrics, group therapists, and health and sports psychologists basically aims at helping various sections of society across all age groups in improving their overall well-being and building capabilities to handle life crises better. Counselling psychologists work with clients seeking help with less severe issues for guidance and support.

Organizational/Business Psychology: Specialization in this field is done by students seeking careers in the corporate or business sector. This field of psychology focuses on applying the principles of psychology to the workplace to address various organizational issues such as employee recruitment, selection, training, motivation, performance appraisal, organizational conflict, etc. The future scope for the field is encouraging as newer areas such as counterproductive work behaviors, issues of organizational justice, bottom-line mentality, quiet quitting, etc are becoming important to be addressed in organizations.

Forensic Psychology: This contemporary upcoming field provides an amalgamation of the field of law with psychology. One of the most attractive fields to pursue careers in is for students who have diverse interests both in law and psychology. The implementation of the new education policy has provided a platform for the students to pursue this line with the help of minor and major selection of courses. This field applies principles of psychology to the criminal and legal system. The field has immense employment opportunities in the coming future as very few professionals are skilled in the area.

Applied Behavioural/ Social Psychology: Specialists in this field are trained to deal with issues pertaining to social context/ society and how the presence of others influences cognitions. This is one of the oldest branches of psychology applying the principles of psychology to understanding the behaviour of people. Some of the common areas of research in the field are attitudes, stereotypes, prejudices, conformity, group behaviors, interpersonal relations, etc. This field is very important as it helps understand the social processes that are extremely crucial in addressing various societal issues and phenomena.

Developmental Psychology: This again is one of the popular fields where a lot of researchers are currently working. Developmental psychologists study the growth pattern throughout the lifespan of a person. Healthy lifespan development is essential across all age groups and developmental psychologists provide interventions on all levels such as physical, social, emotional, cognitive, etc for maintaining the same. 

Cross-Cultural Psychology: This field of psychology studies how culture influences the behavioral and cognitive patterns of humans. Every culture has certain unique characteristics that shape the behavioral and cognitive patterns of people living in that culture. Specialized knowledge in this field helps to unravel various behavioral responses of people to various situations. The present direction in this field has been to understand multiple indigenous psychologies of various parts of the globe. 

As a student thinking to build a career in psychology, it is imperative to understand various fields that exist along with the kind of careers that the field offers. Along with the scope of the field, a student should also introspect on what he/she wants to pursue, where his/her interest lies, and what he/she is curious about. Northcap University offers a unique blend of courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels helping students choose from a basket of electives for preferred specialization and career paths. 

Authored by Dr. Neha Jain Associate Professor, School of Management & Liberal Studies, The NorthCap University